Learning to fly, one mistake at a time
Welcome to my little part of the internet about learning to fly! As a slightly older guy now in my 50s, who took up flying later in life, I am trying to share my own experiences and insights with you.
Learning to fly has been a dream of mine since I was a young boy, but I never had the opportunity to pursue it until later in life. It has been an exhilarating journey filled with challenges, triumphs, and a newfound sense of freedom.
I'm hoping to inspire others who may have similar dreams of taking to the skies. Whether you are a young person just starting out, or someone who, like me, has waited until later in life to pursue this passion, I believe that anyone can learn to fly with dedication, commitment, and the right mindset. So buckle up, let's take flight and explore the world of aviation together!
My journey first started in 2021, and this website together with my YouTube Channel is, to a certain extent, an attempt to document my experiences in the hope it will help others. I have had ups and downs, learning to fly is not easy, but it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever attempted.
Hopefully you will learn from some of my experiences, and enjoy learning to fly and flying as much as I have done.
A number of people have asked why the Whiskey Alpha Pilot name? Well it's Wayne Allen Pilot in the phonetic alphabet. It is that simple.
Take Off is a good place to start, and you are already here. Videos is easy with Thumbnails and Links to all the videos on my YouTube Channel. The Touch and Go Logbook, is basically my flying 'logbook', not of each individual flight, but the most notable occurrences, as well as the odd personal comment on being a GA pilot in the modern world.
AirField Reviews is a growling list of guess what Airfield Reviews - all my own experiences of landing away from home, and Kit Reviews is similar, but for the flying related kit I have bought. Note I said bought - no freebie reviews here.
Lastly we have the Social Bits - all the places you can find me all over the internet.
If you have any questions or comments about what I do and how I do it, or you are thinking about starting on your flying journey, then please feel free to ping me on any social media - I would love to hear your ideas, thoughts and experiences, after that is how we continue to learn.
I drove to my own airfield the other day, walked up to the café I've eaten at for years, and couldn't get a table. Turns out the national press had found the place first. Here's why that's the best problem an airfield can have. And why I still ended up at a drive-thru.
Five years ago I turned onto Elstree Aerodrome and I saw a sign. Now that sounds deeply religious, and I've probably just offended half of you already. It wasn't. It was an actual sign. A board. And on the strength of it I picked the flight school that would teach a man in his fifties to fly. Me.
Read more: I Chose My Flight School Because of a Sign. Here's How That Worked Out.
Last week I didn't fly because it was simply too hot. Thirty-three degrees the day before, density altitude doing unhelpful things, the kind of bumpy air Caz politely declines. So the plane sat in the sun and I stayed on the ground. And then I decided to I spent the evening in a portacabin with no air conditioning, and have a chat with the CAA.
Look, mum, no instructor! Yes it's true. I flew without an instructor and, more importantly to me anyway, I've managed to create another video from another flight in a month. God, is my channel coming back to life? Could I be doing more flying? Yes.
There's a man carved into a Dorset hillside who has been showing off for about a thousand years. The Cerne Abbas Giant. Fifty-five metres of chalk, a club in one hand, and absolutely nothing in the way of clothing. You can probably picture him. Most people can.
There are some people you carry with you long after you've stopped sitting in their classroom. Léon Ellison was one of mine.
Léon was one of my electronics tutors at Royal Holloway. A genius and a gentleman, in that order and both completely. The kind of teacher who made hard things feel reachable, and who treated a slightly-lost undergraduate like the engineer he hoped you'd one day become. I owe him more than I ever told him.
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